Re: the younger set

[Doug Loss <dloss@csrlink.net>]

Paul Kienzle wrote:
> 
> I spent a couple of weeks writing my
> own StickerBook program (http://users.pwernet.co.uk/kienzle/stickers).
> As it stands, it may have a place in an early school art curriculum.
> 
Not to be too anal-retentive, but you forgot an "o" in "powernet."

> With some minor changes to StickerBook (adding labels to the stickers
> and displaying them when they are selected) and some proper content,
> StickerBook could be used for introductory botany.
> 
How about the addition (I admit that I haven't tried StickerBook yet) of
a short section for the children to type a sentence or two about the
picture they've made?  This could convert the program into one of those
"Storybook Weaver" programs, especially if multiple pictures could be
grouped together into a story.

> If there is interest amongst the artistic types in the group, I could
> create an engine for animated story books.  Grimm's fairy tales is a
> ready source of content (hey, it works for Disney), as indeed are any
> other collections of folk or religious texts.  I would base it on the
> heart of StickerBook, with a few extra pieces such as text support, sound
> support (there are a couple of network aware audio servers which might
> work, but I don't have any idea how to sync them with the animation),
> and a good speech engine (with 20 or 30 languages, you don't want to
> ship audio for each of them).  This may be more than I can tackle alone,
> but some of the pieces may already be out there.  Suggestions?
> 
This is a great idea!  How about adding the possibility of having it
work as a decision tree rather than just as a linear story.  I'm
thinking of the "create your own adventure" books, where the reader has
to choose between 2-3 alternatives at the end of each short segment;
each choice directs him or her to a different page with a different
result.  This allows a bunch of ways to traverse the tree, generating
different stories each time.

> More ambitious types could create "A day in the life of" book series,
> showing an individual going about their day.  You could use this for
> teaching history (how does technology change day-to-day life) and culture
> (how do people in different parts of the world live).

This might be an especially useful idea if it's easy for children to
enter the data by themselves or with the help of teachers.  A class in
Ghana (for example) could create "a day in the life of a Ghanan student"
and exchange it with the equivalent daily life visions of classes in
Mongolia or Venezuela.  I say classes, but individuals with the
necessary equipment could do it just as well.

-- 
Doug Loss                 The difference between the right word and
Data Network Coordinator  the almost right word is the difference
Bloomsburg University     between lightning and a lightning bug.
dloss@bloomu.edu                Mark Twain
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